Power Struggle: Aftermath
by MizJoely
Summary: A sequel and series wrap up to my stories "Playing With Power" and "Power Struggle". Beverly's left the Enterprise after discovering that her ordeals at the hands of the Uxmalian pirates have left her with a very important decision to make. But will she share her secret with the other person involved - Captain Jean-Luc Picard? Perhaps her grandmother, Nana Howard, can help.


_A/N: I wrote 99% of this story back when I planned out yet another return of my alien pirates from my stories Playing with Power and Power Struggle. However, the muse left me for Star Trek: TNG fics and I never wrote more. So I was going through old files and saw that this only needed a few additional bits to tie together what I'd written, and I figured I'd wrap up the series. I hope you enjoy it, but you definitely need to read the first two stories to really understand this one._

_Trigger warning: Mentions of rape and pregnancy termination discussion._

* * *

**Captain's Log, Supplemental:**

_Dr. Beverly Crusher has left for extended leave on her home colony of Caldos. Dr. Selar will be acting as temporary Chief Medical Officer in her absence. I have authorized Dr. Crusher's leave to be extended for as long as she requests. At this time she has offered no particular schedule for her return…_

**Captain Jean-Luc Picard's Personal Log:**

_I'm still not entirely sure why Beverly left in such a hurry after the Board of Inquiry cleared her for her actions during the last invasion by Narve and his Uxmalian pirates. Something besides the guilt she feels for their dispersion, for her inability to find another solution, has caused her to leave the ship…and me. I just wish she felt sure enough of our personal relationship to trust me with whatever it is she felt compelled to return to her grandmother's home to resolve._

**Caldos Colony**

Felisa Howard regarded her granddaughter out of compassionate green eyes. "You want to tell me about the baby, or am I supposed to continue to politely ignore your condition until it becomes blatantly obvious?"

Beverly froze at her grandmother's question, then turned slowly to face the older woman, a puzzled, wary expression on her face. "How did you—?"

"How did I know?" Felisa snorted undelicately. "I'm a Healer, Beverly Howard Crusher. I know the signs, and I've seen you pregnant before, remember? You're what, about a month or so along?"

"Six weeks," Beverly managed. She should have known her grandmother would figure it out. And she certainly shouldn't complain; her pregnancy was the real reason for her visit, even if she hadn't gotten around to mentioning it yet.

"Would you like to talk about it?" This question was asked in a gentler tone.

Beverly nodded, then picked up her cup of herbal tea and sat next to her grandmother at the small table by the front window. She gazed out at the peaceful scenery for a long moment, then turned back to face the woman who'd raised her after her mother's untimely death. "It's a very complicated story, so bear with me."

Another snort. "Beverly, I'm 100 years old. I've heard just about everything, and I've learned patience the hard way. Take your time. Explain it to me."

Beverly couldn't help the laugh, and it eased the tense set of her shoulders. She took a sip of the tea, then began. "About a year ago the ship answered a distress call from another Federation ship, one that had been lost for decades…"

Two cups of tea later, she finished the story. "The second time the Uxmalians took over the ship, they had a definite plan in mind. They wanted revenge, but they also intended to return to their home galaxy, no matter how long it took."

"How did they get through the galactic barrier?" Felisa asked, fascinated, then frowned and waved the questions away. "Never mind, I'm sure it has nothing to do with your story. What happened next?"

"They took over several key crewmembers first, including Commander Data, diverted orders to the families and most of the crew so they wouldn't report to the ship on time, and kidnapped the rest of us. I was on Rysa with Jean-Luc," she added, watching her grandmother over the rim of her tea cup. To see her reaction.

"I wondered how long it would take you two to come to your senses," Felisa murmured with a smile. The smile gradually changed to a frown. "I think I know where this is going. The child is Jean-Luc's, is it?"

Beverly nodded. "The Uxmalians removed all contraceptive implants from the female prisoners, myself included."

"So they could use you as breeding stock?" her grandmother guessed, horror in her voice. Beverly nodded, and Felisa reached out to give her granddaughter's hand a compassionate squeeze. "Oh Beverly, how awful." She shook her head. "Since this wouldn't be an issue otherwise, I have to assume Narve had already taken over Jean-Luc's body at the time of conception?"

Another nod, this one more difficult than the first. Beverly rose to her feet and moved restlessly around the main room of the cottage, hugging herself as if against the cold. "You see my dilemma. On the one hand I should be ecstatic; Jean-Luc and I have finally found each other after so many years and now we've conceived a child together. On the other hand…"

"On the other hand," her grandmother finished for her, "the child was conceived while your lover was not of his right mind. It is the child of rape."

The ugly word hung in the air between them as Beverly came to a stop at the foot of the stairs and leaned against the post. "Exactly. Now I have a decision to make, and I knew it wasn't one I could make while on the _Enterprise_. I needed to be here, someplace safe and quiet, with someone who's advice I value. Not that Deanna's advice would be unwelcome," she added with a glint of her usual humor, "but she isn't family."

"And sometimes family is who you need," Felisa concluded.

Beverly nodded. "So." She took a deep breath. "What do I do?"

**One Week Later**

Captain Jean-Luc Picard paused on the front porch of Felisa Howard's covered porch. He'd come in response to Beverly's invitation, formal and politely worded as it had been, but now wondered if he'd made a mistake. What if Beverly wanted to terminate their relationship, to leave the _Enterprise_, or Starfleet, or…

He shook his head at himself. Ridiculous, dithering on the doorstep when all he had to do was raise his hand and knock. No matter what the conversation Beverly wanted to have with him, there was no point in putting things off a moment longer.

He raised his hand and knocked.

**oOo**

"Beverly! Company!" Felisa called from the front parlour. Within seconds, she appeared in the doorway, her hair loose around her shoulders, wearing a long skirt and white blouse with a soft, colorful shawl around her shoulders. She looked lovely, as always, but there was a wariness in her eyes that told Jean-Luc that he'd been right to worry about the nature of the conversation they were about to have.

With a murmured excuse neither he nor Beverly seemed to hear, Felisa Howard slipped out of the room.

"It's good to see you," Jean-Luc said, taking the initiative as he rose to greet her.

Beverly smiled and held out her hands, leaning forward to press a soft kiss to his lips. Not quite the kiss of a lover, but certainly warmer than friendship. Jean-Luc felt his hopes rising, and sternly squashed them. It could easily be a good-bye kiss, after all.

"I'm sorry," Beverly said without preamble as she sat down on the small sofa, gesturing for him to join her. He sat, turned to her attentively, and waited to hear what she had to say. "I just…there were some things I needed to figure out, and I've finally realized – well, Nana Howard helped me figure out – that you should be here with me. Because it's not just me that's involved, it's you."

He studied her, still unsure of where this was going, but the hopeful feeling continued to blossom. "Whatever it is, you can tell me," he assured her, going so far as to lay his hand over hers where it rested on the sofa between them.

Beverly gazed down at their joined hands. "You read my report on Narve and his crew." He nodded. "You read the conclusion Dr. Selar and I came to regarding their selection of specific hostages."

"That they wished to ensure a continuous pool of host bodies, enough to last them at least until they reached their own galaxy," Jean-Luc agreed, his lips thinning in disgusted remembrance.

"To that purpose," Beverly continued, "they removed all contraceptive implants from both hosts and hostages." She stopped, turning her gaze squarely to meet his. "Including yours…and mine."

Jean-Luc nodded, opened his mouth to say or ask something, then closed it slowly as he realized where she was headed. What she was trying to tell him. But he had to be sure… "Beverly, are you trying to say…"

"I'm saying that I had a suspicion confirmed, and needed some time and distance to make a decision regarding that suspicion," she replied. "I needed that time to not only make the decision, but to make up my mind about telling you." She stopped, biting her lip, then forced herself to meet his gaze. "If I was going to terminate, I wasn't sure if I wanted you to know." Her hand crept to her stomach, as she finally said the words. "Jean-Luc, I'm pregnant."

Jean-Luc had gone very still. "You 'are' pregnant?" he asked carefully. Making sure he heard her correctly. Wanting no misunderstandings for so momentous, so terrifying, an occasion.

Beverly nodded. "Am. Although technically this could be considered a child of rape, I couldn't bring myself to end the pregnancy, even after everything that's happened. Not without talking to you first. You deserve to have some say in it; after all, it's still our baby."

Their baby. Jean-Luc was stunned. Even after reading Beverly's coldly worded report, he hadn't put their conclusions regarding the selection of hostages together with the fact that Narve had forced himself upon her while wearing Picard's body. It was a terrible burden to bear alone, and he was grateful she had been willing to share it with him. A thousand questions and thoughts and feelings sprang to mind, but "How do you feel about it?" was all he asked.

She gazed at him, then unexpectedly smiled. "I was just going to ask you the same question."

"But I asked first," Jean-Luc countered.

Beverly huffed in annoyance. "I knew this would happen," she exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air. "We both dance around, each trying to see how the other feels about it, so that we don't commit to the wrong answer and hurt the other person's feelings or make them question their own decision or wonder how much their answer influenced the other. Well, I'm not playing. Not today," she declared flatly. "Jean-Luc, in spite of the circumstances under which this child was conceived, it is still ours. Yours and mine. But as your CMO, I would probably recommend termination, for a multitude of reasons." She ticked them off on her fingers. "You are the captain of a starship, I am not only a CMO but _your_ CMO, we both have our careers to think of, I already have a grown son and had no plans to present him with siblings-"

"And as Beverly Crusher, the woman I love?" Jean-Luc interrupted gently. "How does she feel?"

"She feels that she would like to keep this baby," Beverly replied, her voice low. Still she kept her eyes on her feet, her face half-hidden by the fall of red hair. "She would like to raise this child with the man she loves, and to hell with any other considerations." There. She'd said it. Beverly found herself holding her breath as she waited for Jean-Luc's response.

He sat in silence for a long moment, then took her hand back in his, kissed the white knuckles, and raised her chin to look deeply into her eyes. Then he lowered himself to one knee. Gazing up at her, he said, "Beverly Howard Crusher, would you do me the very great honor of becoming both the mother of my child and my wife?"

Eyes brimming with sudden tears, she nodded, unable to speak, then rose and tugged him back to his feet. They kissed, tenderly embracing as she finally found her voice. "This," she whispered into his ear, "has not only been the happiest day of my life-"

"Of both our lives," he interrupted firmly.

"Of both our lives," she amended, still whispering into his ear. "But it is also going to be the main topic of behind-our-back conversation on the _Enterprise_ for a very, _very_ long time."

They broke into laughter, holding each other tightly. "It that is the worst thing that happens to us from now on," he said when he could speak, "then I shall be very grateful to the Universe for finally, how does Wesley put it, cutting us a break."

In the kitchen, Nana Howard smiled into her cup of tea at the silence that fell across the house. She'd heard nothing more than the murmur of voices, of course, but that silence spoke volumes.

Her grand-daughter – and great grand-child – would be very happy with their lives, and so would the father of that great-grandchild.

She pulled out a small, old-fashioned notepad and began scribbling down ideas for the dress she would wear to Beverly and Jean-Luc's wedding.


End file.
